Angels 12, White Sox 3: Rough start leads to blowout loss

The Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 12-3, this afternoon, and it might be a weird coincidence but both times I’ve covered games this year the team has lost by nine.

Sorry, guys.

In all seriousness, the Angels showed off their offensive power, jumping out to an early lead that set the pace for the rest of the game.

Remember how I was just saying that facing Shohei Ohtani as the first batter of the game would be pretty difficult? Well, Vince Velasquez started off the game with a curveball, and Ohtani wasted no time hitting a solo home run to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. Velasquez continued to have trouble in the inning, allowing a walk followed by a home run to Jo Adell to make it 3-0. Jhan Mariñez replaced Velasquez and allowed a single to Max Stassi and a double to Dillon Thomas, as the Angels extended the lead to 4-0.

César Valdez had a clean bottom of the first inning, and Velasquez came back in the second inning for redemption, switching back into the game and getting in a clean inning of work. With Velasquez still pitching in the top of the third, Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run to extend the Angels lead to 5-0. With two outs, Tyler Johnson came into the game to pitch, making the final line for Velasquez 2 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched with four hits, five runs, and three walks. His ERA now sits at 10.38.

After a single by Tim Anderson, Luis Robert showed his power, hitting a two-run home run to center field to get the South Siders on the board, 5-2. José Abreu followed it up with a home run of his own, cutting the lead to 5-3. What’s better than back-to-back jacks?

Here’s another angle of Robert’s home run, in case you want to confirm he’s in midseason form already.

Austin Warren replaced Valdez shortly after, ending the starter’s day after 2 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched with four hits, three runs, and two strikeouts.

Garrett Crochet had a very impressive fourth inning, striking out two (including Ohtani) and inducing a ground out to end the inning.

With Liam Hendriks pitching to start the fifth inning, Matty Duffy hit a home run to make it 6-3, Angels. After Adell got on base with a walk, Jose Rojas doubled to increase the Angels lead to 7-3.

The scoring continued for the Angels again in the top of the eighth inning, with Wes Benjamin on the mound. Kean Wong led it off with a single, followed by Ryan Aguilar hitting a single and Luis Rengifo with an RBI bunt. Michael Stefanic hit an RBI single as well to extend the lead to 9-3. And it doesn’t end there: Yet another single, by Jack Mayfield, scored two runs and extended the lead to 11-3.

Brandon Finnegan replaced Wes Benjamin to start the ninth inning, and the lefty was greeted with an Orlando Martinez leadoff homer to extend the Angels lead to 12-3. Thank goodness, that homer ended the Angels scoring today.

Although it wasn’t a pretty game overall, we did see some positives from the team, with the starting lineup getting some offense cooking, and Crochet showing off his stuff.

Now at 5-5 in spring training, the South Siders look to bounce back tomorrow against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dallas Keuchel will take the mound at 3:05 p.m. CT at Camelback Ranch. Jacki Krestel will take the ball on coverage, trying to snap this losing streak.